Lucky
by mrjmo
Summary: Michael Raymond-James and Jennifer Morrison have always been close friends off-screen, in addition to their on-screen romance. What will happen when their on-screen relationship begins to become a reality?


While the cast of Once Upon a Time read through their lines for the twenty-fourth time in two days, Jennifer Morrison noticed her arm being gently poked by her co-star and best friend, Michael Raymond-James. He held out a pencil and small, folded piece of paper that had been torn from the corner of his script. He grinned as she discreetly took it from him and unfolded the note, smirking.

"Jen, I have to tell you something. Meet me by the library after work. Oh, and please don't bring Ginny this time, LOL -Mikey" was scrawled on it. _Tell you something_? Her stomach fluttered with utter elation. Not that she was willing to admit it to herself. In the fashion of her character, Emma, she knew she couldn't possibly be _excited_ to see him. They were just friends and nothing more, after all.

"Mikey, I get out at 7. Will you still be here? And don't worry, Ginny's chosen Josh over girls' night tonight... -Jen" Her bubbly penmanship was perfect compared to his chicken scratch, while she attempted to turn down the rising corners of her mouth.

"Yup, I get out at 6:30. Dress warm, the temperature's supposed to be in the single digits! -M" At receiving this, she read it over and over, almost involuntarily.

"M? Secret code names now? You're such a kid." and doodled a smiling cartoon face. "I'll dress warm, and you should wear your favorite Cardinals hat! -J" She smiled to herself, remembering the playful look of defeat when the Michigan football team had lost to the Louisville Cardinals, losing him a bet and forcing him into Josh's "disgraceful" bird hat for Comic Con.

He rolled his eyes exaggeratedly, which made her smile. "'J'...I can't stand that hat. But I'll wear it, for you."

She responded, "Yay! See you later" and itched with anticipation of what he could possibly have to tell her.

* * *

After stopping back at her hotel room to comb her hair, brush her teeth, and grab her favorite pink knit scarf, Jen climbed into her black Audi and drove to the Steveson Library. Her heart fluttered; she was bubbling with excitement. Tonight, she would be meeting her on screen lover and real life best friend _alone_. Best friend... yes. Whether or not she was willing to admit it to herself, she hoped for him to become something more. Meeting him... yes. Whether or not she was willing to admit it to herself, she hoped for their little meet up to turn into something more. Why had he been so mysterious in their little note passing game earlier that day? There couldn't be a reason besides him being up to something. She knew she was knee deep in a prank war with him, but whether or not she was willing to admit it to herself, she would be seriously pissed if that's all this turned out to be. As she pulled up to the library parking lot, she decided to just hope for the best. She could already see his Ford parked in the corner. He was standing by the front doors of the building, fiddling with his coat. Jennifer took a deep breath, unhooked her seatbelt, and opened the car door without hesitation.

"Morrison!" the man exclaimed. "You're here!"

She beamed the smile that had gotten her so far in her career and felt the blood rushing to her cheeks. She cursed that all-American blood that caused her to blush so easily. "Yeah," she spoke. "I am." She tried to hide the excitement, but it seeped through her voice and turned into a giggle as she walked towards him.

He exhaled and the frozen air in front of him turned into a tiny cloud of familiar peppermint scented breath. "It's cold." he observed. Neither of them were cold, though. The adrenaline pumping through their veins was enough to keep them snug.

"Yeah," she agreed simply.

"Jennifer, the reason I asked you here tonight... I need to tell you something," he blurted, more quickly than he had intended. Her eyes lit up, and he smiled at this. Mikey looked down at his shoes and back up to face her. "I think..." he sputtered. "I think... I'm falling in love with you."

* * *

He watched the elation flicker across her face and let it continue across his own. "Mikey..." and in that moment, she knew she was willing to admit it to herself. "I think I'm falling in love with you, too." His eyes became squinted as a grin began to take up much of his face. In something she was finally willing to admit to herself, she encircled him in her arms. They wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer. He didn't pull away. Following suit, he wrapped his arms around her waist, without breaking eye contact. Simultaneously, they leaned in towards each other with their heads. Their foreheads touched before anything else, in the way Emma and Neal's did in Tallahassee. However, Jen and Mikey were no longer portraying their characters. Their love was true, more real than anything else on this earth. Mikey broke into a smile. He'd admitted "it" to himself long ago; he'd been waiting for this moment for months. Ever since they started working together, he knew there was something about her that he couldn't stay away from. Once their friendship had flourished, his feelings only grew stronger. Jen radiated back at him and giggled. "We're just like Neal and Emma!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right." He chuckled. Without thought, he leaned in and placed his lips on hers.

* * *

She didn't object. Their lips moved in synchronized patterns, sending a symphony of emotions to their hearts. Love, happiness, excitement, relief. Their heartbeats sped up, pattering faster than they had any other time that night. Their stomachs churned, butterflies completely taking control. Jen reached up to toy with the curls emerging from the bottom of his beanie. In response, Mikey moved his left hand from her waist to her middle back, just to hold her closer. Somewhere in that time, mouths had opened and tongues began to dance in foreign mouths. She could taste the gum he'd been chewing and he could taste some sweet sort of lip gloss she'd applied. They continued fully into the endeavor; no inch of one's mouth was untasted by the other.

She unwrapped him from one of her arms and traced a line down his back. In turn, he temporarily pulled away, but hastily returned his kiss to her neck. She smirked while he sucked on the soft skin just above where her shoulder met her neck.

"Mikey," she whispered. He took a step back and looked up. "I'm freezing."

"Here, come with me." He took her by the hand and walked briskly to his car. She followed along, noticing how warm his grip made her feel.

"Are we gonna make out in your car? What are we, high school kids?" She asked, earning a snicker from Mikey.

"Actually, I was thinking we could go get a snack. There's a McDonald's on Granville and I'm pretty hungry."

"Classy." Jen noted, and Mikey opened the passenger door. She smiled at him gratefully and climbed in, teeth still chattering. He walked around the front of the car and entered the drivers side. "Can we listen to music?" she asked, strapping herself in.

"Sure," he answered, turning on the radio. The rhythmic introduction to Lou Reed's "Charley's Girl" played as they turned and smirked at each other. It was their characters' song, after all. He buckled his seatbelt and began driving. "Everybody says that you'd better watch out..." he muttered, nearly inaudibly, but nothing could get past Jen. She focused on every movement he made, like a teenage girl with a teenage crush.

"Man, she's gonna turn you in," she responded under her breath. With one hand on the wheel, he looked at her for a quick moment and grinned. She pretended to absentmindedly fiddle with the zipper on her jacket.

"And me, you know that I thought I looked out," he sang, intentionally loud enough for her to not be able to pretend to miss. "Doo, doo doo doo doo!" he sang along with the guitar, making her giggle.

"Now look at the trouble that I'm in!" She laughed and reached over to turn up the volume. It was now blasting through the so-called vintage sound system of his SUV.

"You know, you'd better!" They shouted in unison, giggling. "Watch out for Charley's girl!" They both broke into a fit of hysterical laughter as Mikey pulled into the McDonald's lot.

"Let's keep listening," Jen suggested breathlessly between bouts of laughter. "You got your earbuds?"

He nodded and pulled them out of his jacket pocket. They unstrapped their seatbelts and he jogged around the car to open her door like a proper gentleman. She took his hand in hers, delicately, like an old fashioned princess. "Thank you, Sir Michael."

"Anything for you, my Princess." He grinned, eyes scrunched in a smile. Her face took the same form as they strolled into the restaurant.


End file.
